1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable (physical) tethering of a two computer related devices that are not specifically designed to communicate with each other, and, more particularly, to a man-portable and ruggedized physical tether device with hardware and software components for physical tethering and effectuation of data exchange (and subsequent processing of the exchanged data) between, e.g., a data visualization/mobile device and a network data collection device/equipment, without the need to retrofit/redesign any aspect of the visualization/mobile device or the a network collection device/equipment to accomplish the data exchange and subsequent processing of the exchanged data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Physical tethering may be defined as the process of connecting, through a cable, two electronic devices. The term gets its name from how certain man-portable visualization devices (e.g., smart phone or tablet) are cable attached to a computer. Tethering can also be accomplished using a wireless connection of electronic devices, or a hybrid of methods.
Physical tethering is useful for transferring data to and from a computer device that cannot normally obtain that data through other communication such as WiFi or 3G/4G/LTE networks. Physical tethering is useful for transferring data between nodes of existing networks, or between an existing network node and some other nearby non-networked computer, which are not designed to communicate with one another. Tethering provides a cost effective linkage through which to share information without the huge costs associated with network redesign. There are numerous cross-network and out-of-network communication scenarios that can benefit from a physical tethering capability.
For example, military network communication provides ground troops with data that enhances situational awareness and participation in battlefield decisions. While the necessary digital video and geo-positioning data that the troops need is resident in several of the close proximity military radio networks, their ability to effectively and safely extract, display and interact through mobile smart devices has not been designed into the network.
Description of the Related Art Section Disclaimer: To the extent that specific patents/publications/products are discussed above in this Description of the Related Art Section or elsewhere in this application, these discussions should not be taken as an admission that the discussed patents/publications/products are prior art for patent law purposes. For example, some or all of the discussed patents/publications/products may not be sufficiently early in time, may not reflect subject matter developed early enough in time and/or may not be sufficiently enabling so as to amount to prior art for patent law purposes. To the extent that specific patents/publications/products are discussed above in this Description of the Related Art Section and/or throughout the application, the descriptions/disclosures of which are all hereby incorporated by reference into this document in their respective entirety(ies).